Denying the Dark Lord
by CRAmber
Summary: "Harry Potter is dead. Come forward and join us, or die," the voice of He Who Must Not Be Named echoed. "Draco, come," his mother beckoned. His father reached out a hand. He swallowed hard and set his jaw, then took a couple steps forward. "Draco, no. You don't have to go," Hermione whispered softly. "I'm not," he whispered back, but kept walking.


"Harry Potter is dead. Come forward and join us, or die," the voice of He Who Must Not Be Named echoed.

"Draco, come," his mother beckoned. His father reached out a hand.

He swallowed hard and set his jaw, then took a couple steps forward.

"Draco, no. You don't have to go," Hermione whispered softly.

"I'm not," He whispered back, but kept walking forward until he was directly in between the two groups. Then he stopped, staring coldly at the man who had nearly destroyed his life.

"Come on then, boy," the Dark Lord spat.

"Still a boy to you, eh?" Draco asked, in a tone that suggested he and Voldemort were old friends.

"You remember what happened in your sixth year. You're no man to me."

"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be."

"Stupid boy, still so conceited. I should have known this would happen sooner or later... I guess there's nothing left to say except, Crucio!"

"Expelliarmus!"

The two spells collided, scarlet against red. A cold sweat broke out on Draco's forehead as he tried his best to keep his wand steady. Even Voldemort himself looked surprised at how strong of a wizard Draco had become. A second shouted "Expelliarmus" from within the group standing in front of Hogwarts was enough to cut off Voldemort's spell, but his wand stayed firmly in his hand. Of course, he didn't know who had said it, but Draco smiled to himself, knowing is was Hermione. Then, Draco made the mistake of lowering his wand while he turned to smile at his girlfriend in thanks.

Voldemort, seeing his chance, shouted again, "Crucio!" Draco had no time to react, and in seconds, he lay writhing on the ground in pain, a loud yell torn from his lips. No one dared to move. After a silent moment, the Dark Lord yelled again, "Crucio!" and yet another tormented scream echoed throughout the clearing.

"No, Draco!" came a quiet shout from Draco's mother.

"Quiet, Narcissa. Let the boy get what he deserves," Lucius told her coldly, showing no emotion at his son's torture.

"Lucius! He is your son! You cannot let this happen to him!"

"_My _son would never do what that boy has done. Let the fool be punished." Narcissa looked as if she wanted to say more, but bit her lip to keep quiet and looked on sadly instead.

Hermione mirrored Narcissa's look from the opposite side of the clearing, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. Voldemort had stopped his use of the Cruciatus Curse, but Draco hadn't moved from his sprawled position on the concrete. Hermione felt a tear roll down her cheek, but did nothing to stop it. When she looked up again, she found Voldemort raising his wand to perform another curse. Before he uttered a syllable, she had pushed her way to the front of the crowd. She recalled a spell that Draco had taught her, which caused cuts all over the victim;s body. But he had said it only worked if you really meant it. If you were really angry enough to want such a fate for your opponent. She _definitely_ wanted such a fate for the man who was torturing her boyfriend. Actually she wanted worse, but this was the best she could do without using an unforgivable.

"Sectumsempra!" she screamed darkly, her aim spot on.

"Protego," the Dark Lord responded lazily with a flick of his wand. He had underestimated Hermione's strength as a witch. The curse didn't hit him with its full force, but it managed a couple deep cuts, enough to make him double over in pain. This was followed by a few cheers from Dumbledore's Army, and scowls from the Death Eaters. Voldemort took a few steps backwards, summoning some of his followers to his side.

This gave Hermione a moment to run to Draco, who was nearly unconscious. Ron and George Weasley quickly followed her and carried Draco back to the school, where they left him under Madam Pomfrey's expert care. Hermione stayed with him for a moment, but when Madam Pomfrey told her there was nothing she could do, she returned outside.

Voldemort had stepped back into his position in front of his Death Eaters. He was now pacing back and forth, asking if anyone else would be so sensible as to join him. No one did. There was an awkwardly quiet moment as he continued to pace, and Hermione decided to return inside and check on Draco.

He had come to, but was still having trouble forming coherent sentences.

"What's your name?" Hermione heard Madam Pomfrey asking.

"Draco," he mumbled.

"Good, and your last name?"

"Ma- Malfoy,"  
"Very good. Do you know where you are?"

"Umm... itss, its that, that Hogwarts place, isn... isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is. Do you know why you're here?"

"It's the... the only p-place Father would send me,"

"Alright then. How-" she cut herself off when Hermione cleared her throat. "Oh, good, you're back. Seems to have a bit of memory loss and he's still dazed," Madam Pomfrey informed her. "Let's see if he recognizes you." Hermione took a few more steps forward so that Draco could see her. His eyes widened.

"Granger? What the bloody hell is she doing here?" he snarled.

"Well, she happens to be-" Madam Pomfrey began.

"No-" Hermione cut her off. "Don't tell him. Not yet. He needs to figure it out on his own."

"Figure what out?" Draco asked, speaking more quietly when he saw how civil Hermione was around him.

"I can't exactly tell you, now can I?" she said, smiling sadly down at him on the bright white cotton stretcher.

"Whatever, Granger," He responded coldly. Biting back a sob, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the great hall, allowing the tears to flow freely from her eyes. Then she unceremoniously dropped into a sitting position on the wet grass, her face in her hands as she sobbed. After a moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What's the matter, love?" she heard the familiar voice of a certain one eared Weasley twin ask her.

"It's Dr- Draco! He-" she stopped to let out another sob and then took a deep breath before continuing. "He doesn't- doesn't remember me."

"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry," George responded, sinking down onto the grass next to her. "But, you know, it's only been a few minutes. Symptoms wear off more in time."

"I- I know," she said, followed by a quiet sob. "But it's not just that. He knows me. He just doesn't _know _me."

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"He called me Granger. Not Hermione, just Granger. He didn't look happy at all to see me. He remembers me from years ago, when we weren't- _us,_" She explained, which brought on another round of sobbing. George opened his mouth to deliver some comforting words, but a different voice interrupted him before he had begun.

"Hermione?" The voice was quiet, unsure. She almost didn't recognize him, for he was always so confident. But there was no mistaking him.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, standing up and turning around to face him while wiping her tears off her face.

"I- I don't remember exactly. I don't remember if you know this or not, or if you feel the same way, but I'm going to say it anyway," He said cautiously. "Weasley, could you give us a minute?"

"Sure, sure. No problem," George said with a quick wave before walking away. Draco took a couple steps towards Hermione, Hermione did the same until they were only a few feet apart. He took one of her hands in his.

"Hermione, I- I love you," he whispered, so quietly she barely caught the words. But they were there.

It was the first time he had ever said them to her.


End file.
